NBA: Boston Celtics vs. Golden State Warriors Preview, Odds, Prediction

The big clash awaits us tonight at the Chase Center, where the Golden State Warriors meet with the Boston Celtics. The two sides have been playing well lately. Truth to be told, the Cs are performing solidly for a long time, while the Warriors have had certain troubles lately, but managed to regroup and post a few weeks over the past week or so. According to all the relevant sources, both sides should have their best lineups available, with the note that the only questionable player is Andre Wiggins.

Preview

Boston Celtics (41-28, +140) lost the latest contest, the first one after five wins in a row. This was only the third loss for the Cs in the previous 19 games, and that makes them one of the better, if not the best, team in the league, since the start of February.

They lost to the Dallas Mavs at TD Garden, 95-92, mainly because of the poor shooting percentage. Eventually, they would make only 37.5% of their overall field-goal attempts and had just nine threes in 37 shots from downtown. You have to admit that these are very bad numbers, and beating much weaker teams than the Mavs would be a miracle.

Jayson Tatum had 21 points with 11 boards, but he shot 7-for-23 from the field. Al Horford scored 17 buckets and had six boards and steals, while Marcus Smart ended the night with 15 points. Jaylen Brown wasn’t in the mood for playing, as he contributed with 14 points, which is way below his usual productivity.

Golden State Warriors (47-22, -160) have four straight victories and they are starting to look like an old Dub Nation, that used to terrorize the entire league. Klay Thompson erupted over these few days, and his increased productivity has made things much easier for the Warriors.

After beating the Clippers, the Nuggets and the Bucks, they were better than the Washington Wizards in the most recent game, 126-112. The Warriors made 18 threes in 45 attempts and were shooting 53.6% from the field. Also, the hosts outrebounded the rivals, 44-35.

Steph had 47 points in this one, and was looking fabulous, hitting 16 of his 25 attempts and seven threes, with six boards and assists each. Klay Thompson scored 20 points, the same as Jordan Poole. Thompson had 38 in the previous appearance, the one against the Bucks, and once he began playing at a high level, Curry began pounding as well.

Head to Head Games

The two sides met on December 17 at the TD Garden. Back then, we saw the Warriors winning the event, 111-107. It was the back and forth battle, with the GSW breaking the rivals in the third period, outscoring them 27-14. Steph Curry had 30 points, while Tatum delivered 27 for the home side.

Prediction

The Golden State Warriors have increased their intensity of play over the past few weeks, and it seems that they are slowly reaching their top speed. On the other side, the Cs are superb, but even so, we can’t bet against the Dub Nation when playing at Chase Center. Therefore, our pick here are the hosts.

Pick: Warriors win